Breakfast Ball #81: The Enemy Awaits

In This Week’s Newsletter:

The Enemy Awaits: What is the current state of the U.S. Ryder Cup Team?

The last team to win a Ryder Cup on foreign soil needed nothing short of a miracle. In 2012 at Medinah, Team Europe staged one of the greatest comebacks in the competition’s history, overturning a 10–6 deficit in Sunday singles to claim a dramatic 14.5–13.5 victory.

That remains the last Ryder Cup decided by a margin of fewer than five points. The past five editions have been lopsided, with neither side able to keep things competitive down the stretch.

Keegan Bradley’s job as Captain is keeping that streak going with a dominant win for the United States. Let’s see how the team is shaping up two months out from the event.

Is Captain Keegan Making the Team?

The Ryder Cup has not seen a playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963, but that streak is likely to be broken in 2025. When Keegan Bradley was named captain last year, it came as a surprise. He was not a veteran golfer in decline like the most recent selections. He was and still is a top 30 player on the PGA Tour, and by far the youngest U.S. Ryder Cup captain since Palmer in 1963.

Bradley has been extremely consistent this season, with nine top-20 finishes in 17 starts and just one missed cut all year at The Masters. His win at the Travelers Championship last month put an exclamation point on an already-strong case to make the team. He currently sits 10th in the Ryder Cup qualification standings, and is definitely one of the 12 best American players right now. However, is Bradley best-served focusing his time on being a player or a captain?

Initially he insisted that he would only play if he finished in the automatic qualification spots. After the final putt dropped at the Travelers, his tone immediately changed: “This changes the story a little bit. I never would have thought about playing if I hadn’t won. This definitely opens the door to play.”

The Main Men

The top 6 players on the team are set in stone: world number one Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele, U.S. Open Champion J.J. Spaun, Russell Henley, and Harris English. Those last two names may not be as familiar to many readers — Henley was on the President’s Cup team last year and won the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this year, while Harris English has finished second at The Open and the PGA Championship this season.

Those six players are currently the top six in the qualification standings, and while they may not finish there, their places on the team are secure. Scheffler is in the form of his life and will be eager to improve his Ryder Cup record, where he has only managed two wins in 7 matches. Xander Schauffele had an incredible 2024, but a rib injury hampered his preparations for the 2025 season. Two top 10 finishes on the links in the last few weeks have shown that he is still a top class player. The last two U.S. Open Champions—J.J. Spaun and Bryson—are in prime position to take advantage of Bethpage Black, which will offer a test similar to a U.S. Open.

Middle of the Order

The next three players in the standings—Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, and Ben Griffin—are all highly likely to secure spots on the Ryder Cup team.

Griffin has enjoyed a breakout 2025 season, collecting two PGA Tour victories and multiple top-ten finishes at the majors. Barring a late-season collapse, he’s set to make his Ryder Cup debut this autumn.

Morikawa and Thomas, meanwhile, are seasoned Ryder Cup competitors. Morikawa will be making his third appearance, while Thomas will feature for a fourth time. Thomas returned to the winner’s circle earlier this year at the RBC Heritage, capping off an impressive resurgence after a turbulent 2023. Morikawa has shown impressive consistency throughout the season, though his lone win over the past four years falls short of expectations for a player in the prime of his career.

The Final Two

If we assume Keegan Bradley will take one of the remaining spots as playing captain, that leaves just two positions still open — and right now, both are completely up in the air.

Patrick Cantlay has been one of Team USA’s standouts in recent Ryder Cups, compiling an impressive 5-2-1 record over the last two editions. His 2025 form in the majors has been deeply concerning, with missed cuts in his last three starts. Based on past Ryder Cup performances alone, it’s hard to imagine him being left off the team, but unless he turns things around quickly, his place is far from guaranteed.

Another wily veteran that has had his ups and downs the last few years is Jordan Spieth. He currently sits 26th in the qualification standings, but has not missed a Ryder Cup since his first appearance in 2014. His game has improved in 2025, but will Keegan Bradley value his experience over other in-form players?

Sam Burns is an exceptional putter and a solid all-round player making him a great partner for any of the long hitters. Arguably he is also playing the most consistent golf of any of the players in contention for the last two spots over the last six months. If he can maintain that form in the coming weeks, he’ll make a strong case for inclusion.

One of the most intriguing wildcards right now is Chris Gotterup. Just three weeks ago, he arrived in Scotland ranked 158th in the world. Since then, he’s earned his second PGA Tour win, recorded his first top-five finish in a major, and doubled his career earnings—all in one remarkable stretch. He now sits at 27th in the world rankings.

Gotterup’s powerful game suits Bethpage Black perfectly, and he’s clearly riding a wave of form. If the Ryder Cup were next week, he’d be tough to leave out. But in golf, momentum can be fleeting—and he’ll need to sustain it a little longer to lock down a place.

My Prediction

There is still lots of golf to be played in the next few weeks that will change things, but as of right now, here is my prediction for the U.S. Ryder Cup team:

Scottie Scheffler

Xander Schauffele

J.J. Spaun

Bryson DeChambeau

Harris English

Russell Henley

Justin Thomas

Collin Morikawa

Keegan Bradley

Ben Griffin

Patrick Cantlay

Sam Burns

Results on Tour:

• 🇮🇪 Pádraig Harrington won his second senior major of the year at The Senior Open with a three stroke victory over Thomas Bjørn and Justin Leonard

  • Harrington became just the 5th man ever to win both The Open and The Senior Open, and now has three total senior majors to his name

• 🫠 Joaquín Niemann won his 5th LIV title of the year at LIV U.K., further widening the gap at the top of the individual standings

  • Niemann has yet to produce in the majors with just one top 10 finish in 26 starts, but he is still just 26 years old

  • Jon Rahm’s legion XIII picked up their 4th team win of the season, with Rahm finishing in the top 10

• 🧊 Kurt Kitayama won the 3M Open in Minnesota on the PGA Tour

  • Matt Wallace was the best of the Europeans in T3

• 🇫🇷 Former Ryder Cup player Victor Dubuisson retired at the age of 32 in 2023. Yesterday, in his first start in two years, he won the Biarritz Cup on the Alps Tour, the third tier in European golf

  • He entered the tournament as a favour to one of his friends and ended up winning it!

Coming up this week on Tour

• The Wyndham Championship is the final regular season event on the PGA Tour and will finalize the field of 70 for the St. Jude Championship in Memphis

• The DP World Tour and LIV are off this week!

If you have any feedback for the newsletter or would like to get in touch, I would love to hear from you! Email [email protected] or message us on Twitter/X at @BlueHorizonGolf. Thank you for reading!